Greater calcium build-up in blood vessels outside the brain may be associated with brain changes linked to future risk of dementia and stroke, according to new research in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology: Journal of the American Heart Association. “The relationship between calcium in atherosclerotic plaque and brain changes exists on top of the effect of classic cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure, smoking and diabetes,” said Meike W. Vernooij, M.D., Ph.D., senior study author and assistant professor of epidemiology and radiology at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.